


Bonds of Blood

by itswallie



Category: Young Justice, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Horror, M/M, Mild Blood, Multi, Other, Vampires, Violence, White Martian, dub-con
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-05-05
Updated: 2012-05-05
Packaged: 2017-11-04 20:47:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/398060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itswallie/pseuds/itswallie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They're not vampires. Really.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bonds of Blood: Wally

**Author's Note:**

  * For [melonbug](https://archiveofourown.org/users/melonbug/gifts).



> Each of the team is "turned" into "vampires." "Break of Dawn" is the start of the process, with Artemis/M'gann/Conner, though the first chapter begins with Dick/Wally. Ultimately OTTeam, but touches on most pairings.
> 
> Chapter 2 is for Melon for Christmas, her prompt: Continue the vampire AU - theme "dawn."
> 
> Six chapters total, exploring the AU.

A flash of silver in the dark.

Wally's eyes flutter open. A wan yellow light from the floor keeps some of the creeping blackness at bay – a flashlight, probably, strewn carelessly by the bed.

A bed. He wiggles down into the mattress - comfortable, familiar - his bed. His room in Mount Justice. The speedster shifts experimentally, but he can't straighten up - his wrists catch on rough ropes bound to the headboard above him. His lycra costume slides across the sheets smoothly as he bends his legs, but he doesn't get far - his ankles are tied to the far corners of the bed.

_Okay, okay._

_One deep breath._

_Make that two._

Wally strains again and his sides complain. _Bruising? Internal bleeding?_ Whatever had taken him down had been impossibly fast. The speedster couldn't even dodge it, whatever it was. The room is completely silent: not a single soft breath emerges from the darkness beyond him. _Alone_. The redhead opens his mouth to call for help, but there's that silver flash again.

Wally freezes and lets his eyes adjust. A figure sits – no, _perches_ – on his desk chair. The glow of the flashlight outlines its form from behind; the silver flashes rhythmically as he – _she? It?_ \- turns a metal object over and over in its grasp. Holding his own breath, Wally twists just slightly, peering out of the corner of his eye as subtly as he can, trying to sneak a better look without it noticing. It does.

The rustle of heavy cloth, another glint, and now the silver obscures his vision completely and bites into his cheek. Wally hisses against the sting as it draws blood.

 _Oh God, a_ butcher _knife_.

The knife hovers at his cheekbone, and he can see the green of his irises, pupils constricted in fear, reflected dimly in the brushed metal. Each gasp against the pain brings the blade deeper into the cut. He still can't make out the thing braced above him, knees on either side of his hips, free hand over his right shoulder. It smells of metal, molten iron, but waves of ice-cold roll off it and over him. At the handle of the knife, where its fingers brush his face, its skin feels like silken steel.

The knife draws down over his cheek, scraping him so lightly, gently, just enough to abrade the skin, and a small strangled sound escapes the back of Wally's throat. The blade reaches his chin, and the thing peers over it, grin all too bright and familiar. He looks at Wally, overjoyed, like he hasn't seen him in an eternity.

" _Robs,_ " Wally chokes in surprise.

Robin tilts his head and examines Wally clinically, running the frosty pad of his calloused finger over Wally's skin where he had made the cut moments before. He draws it away with a frown, rubbing the still damp trickle of blood between his index finger and thumb.

"Already healed," the raven haired boy muses. "Amazing."

He grins as he sucks the liquid from his finger. "Let's fix that."

Almost too quickly for Wally to see, the knife slices across his cheek again, and Wally bites his lip to avoid a panicked cry. Rob's tongue – like melting ice, wet and freezing - trails after the blade, and he laps up the bit of blood that falls from the wound.

"Oh, _Oooh_ ," the younger moans in his ear. "Oh _God_."

A low chuckle. He pulls back a little, knife still poised at Wally's jaw. "Well. Good enough to almost make me believe in one."

Wally snorts. "Haha, okay," he says, his voice shaking only a little, "Great _joke_ , Robs, but Halloween's almost two weeks away."

One long, freezing finger at Wally's lips: "Shhh," he murmurs.

Wally blinks - and then struggles _much_ harder. A lazy, maniacal smile crawls slowly across the brunette's face in response to the speedster's renewed wiggling beneath him. The taller, larger throws his weight to the side, trying to knock his friend off, but it's like hitting a brick wall. The acrobat barely budges.

"You _win_ , dude," Wally growls, panting. "Let me _up_."

Squeezing his eyes shut, he vibrates against the ropes in an attempt to shred them, and Robin throws his head back, groaning. His face falls forward again with a gasp, eyes glinting behind the mask, mouth in a half "o", dropped open in a wide, sultry smile.

" _Mmmmm_ ," he hums. Wally shudders to a stop.

"Robs, _Robin_." A note of desperation sneaks into the redhead's voice. "What … what are you _doing_?"

The tip of the knife flies to his windpipe. "I said ' _shh_ ', Wally," Robin whispers firmly. "There's time enough for noise later."

He gently turns Wally's face to the left - the blood from the cut wanders down the divot beside Wally's nose and between his lips. It tastes of heat and fear and … something sweet.

Robin drops his head into the crook of Wally's neck and inhales deeply, running his cheek over Wally's freckles and temple up to his hair. On his way back down the side of Wally's face, the speedster feels a tug on his Flash ornament: Robin catches the edge of his jaw on its sharp red point, slicing open a wound of his own. When the brunette presses his freezing lips against the redhead's, his tepid blood joins Wally's on them.

"Has anyone ever told you how good you smell?" Robin asks, smiling into the pressure of his words against Wally's mouth. "Like popcorn. And hot dogs."

He plays with the top edge of Wally's mask with his free hand and threads his fingers through the ginger locks. "Like a night at the movies. Or the amusement park. Like cotton _candy_."

Their blood trickles its way into the cavern of Wally's mouth, and he tries not to gag. Robin's full weight is pressed against him now, hips against hips, chest against chest. One calloused palms spread against Wally's pecs, knife flat beneath it.

"Mmm. You smell like _heat_ , Wally," Robin continues, "Like _red and yellow_."

He lets his lips trace over the speedster's chin and down to his neck.

"Like a day at the _circus_ ," he whispers.

"Robin," Wally pleads. "Stop, stop. You're sick. Hypo – hypothermia or something. Delusions … uh ... s-s-slower respiration …"

_… superspeed. Superstrength. You know, the usual._

"I … we need to get you to the infirm –"

Robin snickers, mouth open against Wally's throat, and the redhead feels the fabric of his uniform around his neck snag. On two tiny, razor sharp points.

 _Nonono, impossible._ Impossible.

"… _Dick_ , please," Wally whimpers thinly.

Robin sits up suddenly. "Yes. I'm going to take off my mask," he announces. He _almost_ sounds like himself. "I want to do this right."

He produces a spray bottle from his utility belt and wets his mask with solvent; the satin fabric falls away and to the side, discarded on the floor. His eyes shine, glossy and bright, almost glowing. At first Wally thinks Robin's irises are solid black, but as the acrobat bends over him, peering at him for his reaction, he sees that the thin lines around the younger's pupils – blown wide in pleasure – are a thick, dark crimson.

Wally panics.

"Oh, nonono _no_." He's pulling against his bonds as hard as he can now. "You're _not_ fucking going all _Twilight_ on me. That movie _sucks_."

Robin sits back and laughs, giggles echoing off the walls of the small room.

"Oh good, you can still make me laugh. Here I was worried I wouldn't have a sense of humor anymore," he says, smiling. He lets his hands plop back down just beside Wally's hips.

"I love you for that."

Wally sucks in a breath.

The words tumble from his tongue thoughtlessly, casually, like he'd said it everyday of his short life. But the brunette's eyes grow wide, and his mouth drops open in surprise. "Look at _that_. I said it."

" _Huh_." Robin hums as he runs his hands up Wally's chest and stretches - haunches back, arms forward - cat-like and grinning. The knife, still gripped loosely in Robin's fist, stops just at his throat.

"Oh, it's just so nice to be honest, isn't it Wally? Life's so short. Too short to not be." He purses his lips thoughtfully. "Kind of ironic how much easier it is, I guess, now that life's infinitely long. To be totally _ceitful_."

"Ro - Robs this isn't really you - it's not hon -"

"Isn't it?" Robin rolls next to Wally on his side, one leg still draped lightly over him. He lazily drags the butcher knife over Wally's chest and down his thigh ... The cloth starts to shred and split beneath the pressure, but it doesn't quite reach Wally's shivering skin beneath it.

"Don't worry. You'll get it. You'll underst ... No, way more than understand. You'll _over_ stand soon enough." As Dick giggles inanely, Wally swears under his breath and stares heavenward for some sort of help.

Robin lets his gaze wander up Wally's face. "Those eyes, though."

He slides the knife under the bottom of Wally's mask covering his cheekbones and carefully slices away the fabric. "I'll miss the green. A lot. My favorite color. Did you know that, Wally?"

The speedster swallows and shakes his head.

"Man, I never told you anything. I regret it. Well, this is the first time I've admitted that, so I guess it's just a ' _gret_ ' for now."

Robin frowns. "Don't look so scared, Wally. Don't worry. It doesn't hurt that much. And it feels _so_ nice after it's over."

Dick shakes his head in wonder as he carefully, gingerly, saws away at the cuts in Wally's costume. "It's almost … odd, how little I want to hurt you."

The lycra begins to break and curl back on itself: a rift down the center of his costume and a cut up his thigh. Perspiration pools in the ridges between his abs. Robin runs a frigid digit over them and tastes it.

"Hmm. Yeah, fear. People taste more delicious, though, when they're afraid. Er, that's what I hear." Robin bites his lip, almost shyly. "I mean, I wouldn't know yet. You're ..."

A strange bluish tinge flows to his cheeks. "You're my first."

_Geezus._

"Rob - Dick," Wally whispers. "Who ... who did this to you?"

Robin is braced above him again, finger to his lips. "Nah ah _ah_ ," he scolds. "You might get jealous. I sort of inadvertently pressed the issue, anyway. Nothing personal; she had no choice."

Dick taps the knife lightly against Wally's insignia. "But _I do_ , and that's what matters. And of course -" his teeth flash white, silver in the darkness "- I choose _you_ , Pikachu."

Their leader chews on his lip shyly again with one razor sharp canine. It pierces his lip - solid as steel - effortlessly. A drop of blood slides over his silken skin and falls from his chin to Wally's mouth. Robin smiles and bends down to gently kiss the cool, red liquid away with one - _two_ \- _three_ \- soft caresses. Wally's breath hitches as they become successively more open, and by the last Robin is running the tip of his tongue along the line between Wally's lips. The redhead purses them tightly though, and his eyes shutter closed, brows knit with dread.

Dick's cheshire grin fades into a pout.

"Wally, aren't you glad? I passed over more than a few people waiting for you to get back." He sounds almost sad. "Don't you want it to be me?"

He slices open the rest of Wally's mask, and dropping to one elbow, leans into Wally's ear.

"Don't you like me, Wally?"

The redhead shivers and shuts his eyes: _yes_ NO ... _yes. Fuck._ Wally bites his tongue.

"Just n-not sure I can take an eternity of wordplay, Robs."

"Oh?" says Robin as he lets his hands slip under Wally's rent yellow top and drift south.

 _Nono_ no _no_ , Wally flushes bright red and tries to squirm away from Dick's fingers. The brunette's lips twist into a smug smile.

"Hmmm, seems you like me at least a little bit …" Another wicked flash of bright enamel. "And - _commando_. I win the bet with Zee."

He folds his hands around Wally, who hisses at the icy touch. "Can't say I'm surprised."

Wally isn't sure which part of his previous sentence he's referring to.

Dick lazily traces a thumb up and down Wally's length, who's feeling dizzy and lightheaded, vibrating weakly, still going through the motions of getting away. The acrobat buries his head in Wally's shoulder and slices open the rest of his shirt.

"You smell sweet _and_ savory now," he says softly, nuzzling Wally's bared neck. "I probably won't run across that particular combination often."

His friend's teeth scrape lightly over his pulse point and the speedster cringes. Robin chuckles.

"Your _neck_?" he scoffs. "Well, traditional, I guess, but sort of pedestrian, don't you think?"

The black cape rustles as Robin hops lightly back up on Wally's hips. "Hmm. So anyway, what do you think we should do first?"

Staring thoughtfully at the wall, Dick absentmindedly taps the flat of the blade against his chin. "I know! We should find Roy. I'll let you turn him!"

He turns back down to his friend, gleeful: "Or, oooh, we could _race_. How fun would that be? See if you can _turn_ him before I _kill_ him."

"K-kill..?" Wally chokes. "Why ... Why would you want to _kill_ Roy?"

Dick shrugs carelessly. "No real reason. Makes things more interesting, right? What fun is a race if you already know the outcome? Though now that you mention it ..." The raven haired boy's eyebrows knit and his expression darkens.

"... I wonder if your powers will carry over. Will you _still_ be that much faster than the rest of us?" An eyelid twitches, and the knife flies to his throat again before Wally can blink. " _That_ would be kind of annoying. And here I thought I'd finally caught up."

Wally vibrates a little from the strain of holding his jugular away from the knife's edge. Robin sighs and tosses the knife away; it lands just above the speedster's head. The redhead slowly twists his wrists, and he can just barely brush the unfinished wooden handle with his fingertips.

"It's a risk I'm willing to take," Dick murmurs, letting his forehead drop to Wally's warm chest, damp with sweat.

He slides his fingers into the grooves along Wally's ribs, and Wally shivers as goosebumps spring up around them. His best friend's fingers are frigid, but Wally's running so hot right now they're a welcome relief.

 _Almost almost_.

Robin drags his forehead, his fingers, his lips down Wally's torso, and the goosebumps follow. A soft, wet, freezing, kiss, and Wally's desperately chasing away a fog overwhelming him as his fingers scrabble for the knife.

"Wally, you're sososo _warm_ ," Dick moans, cheek pressed against his abs, fingertips reverently tracing the ridges of each muscle.

 _Not Rob not Rob_ not _Robnotrobnotrob._

"You almost _burn_."

Wally blinks away a drop of sweat that drips into the corner of his eyes, and he can … _just … feel … the_ knife …

The knife finally frays a strand of the rope at his wrist, as Dick's teeth slice through a few threads still connecting his costume at his hips. The air is cool; Robin's breath is cooler, and they wash over his hips, and Dick's thumbs dig lightly into his hipbones, massaging them. It feels so so _SO_...

Wally's thoughts are derailed as Robin's tongue cuts a swath over his leg, barely brushing _him_ , and traces its way to his … _oh god_ his upper inner thigh. The path behind it starts to tingle and feel numb … _anesthetic? Or just ….?_

The redhead's holding his breath, squeezing his eyes shut, trying to ignore the sting of tears in the corner of his eyes.

Robin's mouth opens against his thigh.

The knife clatters to the floor.

He kisses him.

Wally tosses his head back and screams Dick's name.


	2. Break of Dawn: Artemis

 

The strip of pink crawls up the morning sky beyond the restless waves outside Happy Harbor. Robin already feels a warmer wind rustle his hair, and the brunette blinks away the multicolored stars that always accompany the sunrise. Colors thicken and saturate unnaturally: for a few minutes each morning the world takes on a cartoonish quality as his night vision fades.

He always enjoys it.

Twin howls arrive on the breeze. At the edge of the cliff, Conner and Wolf arch up and back, crying at the silver-spun moon sinking in the sky, fading into the dawn. Zatanna tosses a pebble at Conner and teases him again for "getting the lore" wrong. He _knows_ that, of course, and the Kryptonian smirks and retorts with something about irony.

They aren't vampires. They aren't. Really.

* * *

**_Six Weeks Ago_ **

_Artemis eased the door to her room at Mount Justice shut behind her, blinking blearily into the darkness in the hallway. She was so exhausted from a long night of patrol she couldn't even bring herself to take the Zeta Beam home. As her feet padded silently toward the kitchen, she cocked her head, listening carefully for any indication that her friends were still around. She was pretty sure that Robin, Wally, Zatanna, and Aqualad have gone home for the night, but Conner and M'gann are around somewhere …_

_She just really didn't feel like throwing on a robe over her thin white tank top and pink panties to grab a drink of orange juice from the fridge at 3 am._

_The door to M'gann's room was closed, and Arty pressed one ear to it, listening for the soft, even breathing of sleep. What she got instead were giggles and low whispers of sweet nothings, which was,_ augh, TMI _. Both her ears burned hot with embarrassment - she really shouldn't have done that, for_ so many reasons _, and frankly, she got what she deserved._

They'll probably be busy for the next ten minutes, at any rate.

_She resumed her walk down the chill hall to the kitchen, trying to shake off a sudden tug of loneliness._

* * *

Never alone again. The morning sun bleaches the crowd of six perched above the ocean an unearthly white. A wave of intense - almost inhuman - affection washes over Dick as he watches his friends chatter aimlessly. He could easily eavesdrop from the fifty feet that separates them, but he tunes them out and draws a final drink from the deer they'd had the night before. It's blood is tepid now, bland - the adrenaline and other hormones in it have broken down. The animal is no longer afraid, and it hasn't been for hours.

Too bad.

The last bit of thick burgundy dribbles over the brown, brush-like hairs on its neck and then the backs of his porcelain hands. The brunette tuts in annoyance; a flash of pink tongue wipes it away.

He tosses the deer's body over his shoulder effortlessly, but it's still an awkward lug to the edge of the forest. The gray rubber of his tabi shoes squeaks against the damp green of the spring grass as slides his way down the tiny hill. Robin walks until he hits resistance, an invisible wall, and dumps the carcass at the edge, near the other four they'd hunted last night.

Dick sighs away his frustration - deer are never quite enough. He idly wonders who'll be by to pick the bodies up, to take them beyond the the shield while the seven of them remain trapped.

"Quarantined."

Because really, they _aren't_ vampires.

* * *

_The white tile of the kitchen cooled Artemis's aching feet. She pulled open the fridge door and propped it open on one hip: the pale light blanched her features as she sleepily pawed past the bread and celery for the O.J. The blonde rubbed her eyes, twisted off the top and automatically brought the jug to her lips._

... Augh. Whoops.

 _She hated doing something so ..._ Wally _._

Well, I'll just finish off the whole thing. That's okay, right?

_Tilting her head back, she started on the rest._

_"Artemis!"_

_The soft squeak of her name behind her didn't distract her, but when she turned around she almost choked._

_Megan stood in the doorway, dressed in something she couldn't have seen on prime time. Sputtering, Arty spun back toward the safe contents of the fridge, drawing one arm across her lips, damp with orange juice, and hurriedly grabbing the lid of the open O.J. Some of the orange drink spilled out in her fluster._

_"Oh, sorry!" M'gann was at her side with a towel, wiping up the little that had spilled on the floor, on the shelves of the fridge. Artemis leaned into the chill of the refrigerator a farther to stem the tide of heat and pink flushing her cheeks. She fumbled with the lid of the bottle._

_Megan smiled up at her. "I didn't mean to startle you. I just saw the light, and ... I thought I had left it on."_

_Artemis continued to wrestle with the lid to the bottle awkwardly, avoiding eye contact with the beautiful girl and what apparently passed for coverage. M'gann glanced down._

_"Oh, I guess this is weird?" She brought her palm to her forehead in her trademark gesture. The lacy red thing melted away into a turquoise t-shirt and a pair of tiny panties with dark purple stripes._

_"There! Now we match. Better?"_

Not really _, Artemis thought, but she bit her tongue._

* * *

And Dick won't complain; none of them will. They won't for M'gann's sake, mostly.

There are worse places to be stuck, anyway.

_"Woohoooooo!"_

Robin turns back in time to see Wally crawl up onto Conner's shoulders to a standing position. He balances there a moment, Conner's hands resting gently, unnecessarily, around his ankles, fingers tapping a rhythm along his legs. The flat, paper-white skin of Conner's fingers blends into the matching color of Wally's calves depending on the angle of the light - when they all hold hands, sometimes they can't tell where one of them begins and the others end.

The redhead grins like a villain, shakes him off, and launches himself over the cliff. Wally curls into a ball, spinning his way to the blue below, bringing the last of his shout with him.

Dick hears another shout when his best friend resurfaces, but it's not from the shock of the chilly ocean. In fact, the water is probably quite cozy, because a 30 degree body temperature makes the whole world feel balmy.

32.3 degrees to be exact. They are literally frozen in time, and all of life is eternally warm.

But this makes the day too hot, and Robin already feels sluggish as the top of the sun peeks over the horizon. The urge to join Wally in the water is overwhelming.

So he does.

The cape and tunic litter the path back to the cliff. He's no longer allowed his belt or gloves, but the trinkets aren't really necessary anymore, anyway.

Artemis catches his sprinting approach from the corner of her eye, and a feral smile spreads across her face as she backs up and crouches down, cupping her hands in front of her. Dick's grin matches hers, and the shoes come off before he plants a foot in her palms, and she's lifting him up; he's catching her shoulders; he's backflipping over her head; he's soaring over the cliff.

His mask is the last thing to come off before he flies over the edge.

The acrobat smirks at them all as he executes a perfect swan dive, until he chokes and flails at nothing. A tug at his leg leaves him dangling awkwardly mid-air, one ankle held by invisible hands. Laughter ripples through the little group and below. Dick folds his arms and glares at a grinning M'gann. _Zero_ regret. She smiles broadly as she drops her hands, and he drops too.

* * *

_Arty'd finally gotten the top to the O.J. on. "I ought to put this ..."_

_"Sure, just a second ..." Megan had begun pulling ingredients for fresh spaghetti to the front of the shelves. " ... I don't want to forget that I have these ..."_

_M'gann was so beautiful. Long, lithe limbs brushed past Arty's a bared waist, and she smelled like ... irises in the snow, somehow. Perfect red lips flashed a gentle smile up at the archer. Megan clapped her hands once as she finished, and she stood at her full height._

_"There, all done," she chirped. Her breath was sweet and cool, ghosting over Artemis's temples as the Martian sighed in satisfaction._

_Artemis was just so_ tired _, that's all._ That's _how she found herself leaning into the Martian's shoulder, gray eyes fluttering closed. M'gann's skin chilled the archer's flushed forehead; the feel of the cotton Miss Martian had mimicked for her tee was softer than real cotton, and, somehow, it pulsed with life._

_The light from the fridge spilled over them and tapered softly into the dark of the room. M'gann's hands rose behind Artemis's head, like maybe she wanted to hug the girl with the long blonde hair but wasn't sure if that was what she should do._

_"... Artemis?" She gingerly brought a hand to the back of Arty's head, and when the smaller girl didn't move away she wrapped her other jade arm around her shoulders. "Arty...?"_

_Megan's whisper was answered with a tiny, almost imperceptible sniff._

_"Arty, are you okay?"_

_Arty_ wasn't _crying._

 _But tears of frustration and exhaustion clung to the corners of her eyes, and she furiously tried to blink them away as M'gann pulled back to look at her. She_ wasn't _crying, and she totally wasn't going to, because the next thing she knew her lips were pressing so, so softly against M'gann's crimson pair. Artemis wasn't entirely sure who had kissed who -_

 _"M'gann - I'm so_ sorry _I - you're with Conn - and I - I hope that wasn't me because I wasn't going to -"_

_The ketchup bottles and condiment jars rattled as she stumbled back into the fridge door behind her in embarrassment, jug of O.J. still dangling from one hand. Megan's eyes were open wide in surprise._

_"I -" M'gann knitted her eyebrows and sucked in a breath and carefully leaned forward to kiss Artemis again._

_Artemis felt like she'd been tossed off a cliff._

* * *

Rushing wind and the shock of impact - Robin slides past Wally in the sparkling, ice-cold water. Invigorated, he heads toward a coral reef below. The brunette's lungs ache to breathe, but he chases away the residual panic - Dick hasn't drawn a breath in weeks. Old habits die hard. Colors bleed away in the depths and then flood back as his sensitive eyes adjust.

A flutter at his feet and he grins, chasing a flounder as it dives into an arm-sized crevice in the reef. An eel defends its home against his invasion, razor-sharp teeth scraping ineffectually over his pale, impenetrable skin. He grows tired of pawing for the fish with the thing in the way, and so he coolly reaches over and snaps its neck. Robin pulls it out and, expressionless, watches it float to the sea floor below.

He peers into the darkness beneath the rock now, listening for the ruffle of sand, watching for a flutter of fins. The flounder is nowhere to be found. The acrobat huffs sadly and drifts toward the deep navy behind him.

The smack of Wally horsing around in the waves 70 feet above him. It looks like Conner, Zatanna and M'gann have joined him; he can just make out M'gann stretching, stretching farther than her arms should allow, to dunk Zatanna underwater. She is much more open with her shape-shifting now, and it doesn't unnerve them at all anymore. In fact, they love it: they love her; they live for her; they'd die for her.

And they'd kill for her, if she asked.

Sometimes it seems like she never would.

* * *

_Artemis blinked rapidly as Megan pulled away, lips pursed thoughtfully, tilting her head like she was considering something or … oh god,_ talking _to someone._

_The blonde swallowed and tried not to panic. Could this … could this get any more awkward? She wanted to run to her room, hide and never look M'gann in the eye again, but she was trapped between the fridge door and the redhead. She used the the jug of O.J. she gripped way too tightly as an excuse to look away from the beautiful Martian, but even once the container was back on the shelf she still couldn't let go, steadying her shaking hand around its handle._

_M'gann reached over and gingerly wrapped her fingers over Artemis's on the bottle._

_"You … you like Conner, right Artemis?"_

_Artemis's mouth opened, but no sound came out._

_"... and you like … me?" Megan's voice had a hopeful smile in it._

_The archer's blush spread from her cheeks to her collarbone. Slender green digits lightly pried Arty's fingers from the jug's handle and wrapped them in her palms._

_"I was wonder - … would you …?" Megan began nervously, a waterfall of words spilling from her mouth. "I mean, I - we believe on Mars that there's room in your heart for more than one person, and I ... just never really thought because I hear it's sort of rare here, and I guess I … should get to the point, which is that I was talk - talking to Conner, and I don't want to assume anything but …"_

_M'gann's anxious ramble drifted to a stop. Arty was still staring at the O.J. The taller girl chewed on her lip, collecting herself._

_"... would you … would you like to …?"_

_She didn't get to finish her whispered question because the O.J. bottle tumbled on its side, and Artemis's arms were wrapped around her neck, and her mouth was molded to hers, and M'gann's words were muffled into a joyous squeak as she lifted them both up and floated them back to her room._

* * *

The low, drawn-out keen of humpback whale maybe three miles away distracts Robin. He shuts out the the cacophony above, and silence, peace settles over him. His lashes shutter closed against the blue abyss.

He'll have to ride a humpback whale someday.

His yearn to wander away from the harbor, to breach the barrier, is acknowledged by a soft, cool brush against his mind. Kaldur emerges from the darkness ahead, and Robin flips and wiggles joyfully over to the Atlantean, meeting him halfway. They clasp hands in an elaborate greeting, smiling brightly.

Neither death nor fear plague the leaders now.

Robin tilts his head in a silent question, and Kaldur shakes his sadly. The Atlantean has explored the edges of the shield in the ocean for days, weeks. No way to break through or dig under. The quarantine is decidedly hardest on the blonde, silver-eyed boy. They are all painfully aware of how much he misses the beautiful waters of the tropics and the brightly colored fish.

Dick sighs, but Kaldur shrugs lightly. They are nothing if not patient. All the time in the world.

* * *

None _of the three qualified as_ inexperienced _at this point in their lives. They were still shy, though, and each touch, each boundary was carefully negotiated between the broad-shouldered boy and the two beautiful girls. Flesh_ and _mind meeting, intertwining - each so grateful that mis-communication was almost impossible. And Artemis was such a welcome addition, her distinctly human experience clarifying and articulating all that Conner and M'gann had played at physically - but not completely understood._

 _Now the slide of fingers over skin, the touch of tongues in-between lips molded to each other's made perfect sense. In turn, they showed Artemis the sheer joy of sharing all they had - all of it,_ everything _\- mentally blending together in a sea of sensation and emotion and laughter._

_The archer reclined, her back to Conner's bare chest, M'gann's breast against hers. The turquoise tee had faded into soft jade skin away long ago, and Artemis reveled in the flutter of two hearts beneath her palms as she traced M'gann's form. The Kryptonian was so warm behind her, and the press of M'gann to her front so cool. Her thighs shivered between them, fire and ice, fire and ice._

_Artemis was the one melting._

_Conner's thumb played shyly beneath the strap on Arty's panties at her hip as he leaned over her shoulder to place soft kisses along M'gann's neck. They traced down over her collarbone until he reached the juncture where Artemis's jaw rested against the Martian's jade, freckled shoulder, and, after a pause, he continued up to the blonde's ear. Artemis cooed in pleasure and playfully nipped his jaw, skin like solid rock wrapped in soft satin._

_He pulled away, chuckling, and M'gann brightened at the sharp pleasure of the act. Arty grinned wickedly and leaned forward, tenderly capturing M'gann's cheeks between her palms and her lower lip between her teeth. She pressed down, sucking and the biting lightly, pausing so the feedback of M'gann's experience could wash over her._

_She was not disappointed._

_Megan squirmed and grinned and mimicked Arty, brushing her tongue over the blonde's teeth as she backed away to claim the archer's lip. A sharp prick followed, though, and Artemis hissed instinctively._

_The three stilled at the painful sensation. Artemis sheepishly brought two fingers to her lips, and a thin trail of red ran over the tips. She shook her head at Conner and Megan's worried glances._

_"I'm fine -"_

_"I'm sorry," interrupted M'gann, "that's never happened with -" The redhead glanced at her Boyfriend of Steel, and Arty's lips twisted into a smirk._

_"No, I'm sure it hasn't," she mused. The archer flashed a reassuring smile, and a teasing note slipped into her tone. "It's okay … some people even like it."_

_Megan and Conner's frowns deepened at Artemis's bravado: they hadn't recognized any real pleasure in the moment. Artemis scowled in frustration that they wouldn't let anything slip by._

_"Maybe … just not so hard next time?"_

_Brown and blue eyes sparkled in agreement, and they drew the human girl back into their embrace. Her palms tingled as they pressed against her friends' bodies._

_They drowned in affection._

* * *

By the time Dick and Kaldur get back to shore, Wally's the only one still in the water. Aqualad and Robin rise above the waves behind him just a few feet away.

The acrobat presses against the older boy's chest behind him, leaning his shock of raven hair back against one broad shoulder. The tattoos on Kaldur's arms glow as he wraps his fingers gently around Dick's waist, sliding them into the grooves of his hipbones. His gills don't flutter anymore, but he breathes for Dick, because he knows that Dick loves the soft brush of them against his cheeks.

A wave of salt water falls over their heads and interrupts their repose, though, and chants of "Race! Race! Race!" drift down from the cliff. They catch Wally's eye; all three grin and make a swimming sprint toward the cliff. Kaldur and Dick immediately gang up on Wally because - even though they're all lightning fast - he is still _just_ that much faster. Perhaps because of his powers, perhaps because break-neck speeds have been second nature for years.

At the rocks at the base of the cliff Dick grabs Wally's ankle, and Kaldur lunges for Wally's swimsuit, pantsing him along the way up. Wally squawks indignantly and falls backwards into the water. Dick is just ahead of the redhead when the speedster shuttles back and up out of the waves, playfully stepping on the brunette's fingers as he passes. Dick growls and grins and bites his best friend in the calf, hard. He tastes of deer and rabbit - _when had he gotten hold of a rabbit?_

Wally squeals but not in pain - no, _every_ sensation they have now is a gift to be savored. He slips but takes Dick down with him, and by the time they pop back up, Kaldur's at the top of the cliff.

They laugh and climb up the mountain into the hot summer sun at a more leisurely pace. Artemis and Kaldur, in particular, are already feeling the heat, but all of them wait patiently for their friends. Wolf lets Artemis hop onto his back so he can carry her in, and Wally and Dick slide under Kaldur's arms.

* * *

_The next day, Artemis was sick._

_She brushed away M'gann's concerns. It was just the flu; she'd just patrolled too hard. The archer didn't enjoy being fussed over, and even more importantly, she wasn't looking forward to days and days of M'gann's chicken soup._

_To be fair, the third try was really quite edible._

_Conner and Megan drifted in and out of Arty's open room, but she made herself scarce when the convulsions started. Strange cravings, a change in her pallor, a tumbling temperature. Artemis downplayed them: anemia - iron tablets seemed to help - not enough sun, exhaustion._

_M'gann didn't press the issue, but she knew something was wrong. Conner would find the redhead up at all hours, anxiously searching the internet for diseases that could explain the collection of symptoms that Artemis couldn't completely hide._

_She couldn't find one._

_The blonde still resolutely deflected M'gann's pleas to see a doctor, swearing the taller redhead to secrecy - not to tell even her mother, so she wouldn't be kept out of a mission._

_M'gann frowned but swore to her._

_At night, memories of Martian fairytales, of monsters, snippets of childhood ghost stories surfaced in the back of the redhead's mind. They formed no cohesive whole, though, and the ridiculously impossible was not worth chasing down, right?_

_The knot in her stomach grew tighter each day._

_Then Megan and Conner were called away on another mission, and with reluctance she left Artemis behind. The archer seemed to be feeling better at last anyway. She'd only be gone a day and a half._

* * *

As they enter, wet clothes are tossed away in the war room and along the halls to the showers, where cool water rinses away salt and sand as lathered hands run through hair and down sandy legs. Soap bubbles float aimlessly around the room until one of them chases the rainbow spheres down and crushes them between the clap of their palms. Cotton pajama pants and long t-shirts replace fluffy towels in M'gann's room.

They've long since pushed other beds into her room, and it's a comfortable, cool tangle of legs and arms as they settle in for sleep. Artemis shoves Wally against the wall so that she can slide in-between him and Zatanna, who is curled up next to M'gann, curled up next to Kaldur, curled up next to Conner, and Dick's slight form flops bonelessly across them all. Wolf noses his way under their knees and hums as their toes gently massage the top of his ribs.

They talk about what movies they want to watch tomorrow, and what they think their mentors will bring them for dinner. Zatanna wants to try zebra one day, Conner tiger, and they giggle as they imagine the mayhem they could cause if they got into the zoo. They discuss video games and the little outside news they're allowed. They look forward to their first winter.

They think of fish for Kaldur: clown fish and Sergeant Majors. A barracuda slips from mind to mind in their telepathic space as they connect the corners of the oceans they've built in their imaginations. Zatanna's coral-filled green-blue sea blends into the dark depths of Conner's lonely ocean, dotted with the glowing lights of toothy angler fish. A herd of dolphins plays above the water in M'gann's mind. Wolf chases them as he skips impossibly across the surface.

Dick nips at Wally to get him to get rid the weird floating labels that clutter the ocean floor on his side: Wally's only ever been to the aquarium … and seen _Finding Nemo._ Kaldur chases away another cartoon fish that doesn't actually exist in the wild.

Everyone vows to take Wally scuba diving for hours on end when they get out of there.

* * *

_M'gann returned to Mount Justice to find Robin and Wally trash talking each other over the gaming system, which wasn't odd in and of itself, except that their mouths weren't moving._

_The pair flew to the Zeta Beam seconds after she arrived like excited puppies, stumbling over each other to help her with her groceries, with her bags. She heard a chorus of voices from the ocean: Artemis, Kaldur, and Zatanna. They called to her from far beyond her normal range. They had missed her, so much, and were coming to see her right away._

_Good humor, puns, and snark flowed from her friends as they asked about the mission and put away the the food and her suitcase. Wally and Arty bickered; Kaldur smiled magnanimously; Robin and Zatanna flirted. On the surface, everyone was unchanged._

_But M'gann avoided their eyes with glittering red pupils, pretended to ignore the smell of iron that rolled off them, the taint of blood on them. Goosebumps crawled up her arm when Wally turned down a candy bar, subtly licking a coat of red liquid off his too-sharp teeth. She drew back from their contact, icy skin much colder than her own, and she knew that they - not the least Artemis and Kaldur - should not have that pallor._

_She ran to contact J'onn and wait, trembling, for Conner's comforting embrace._

* * *

The sun is high in the sky when they drift off slowly in the others' embraces, eyes with a soft red glow winking closed, leaving darkness behind. They go to sleep happy, content, peaceful. The room settles, quiet as death itself.

It was M'gann's doing, but not her fault. She didn't know.

But they will always have her to thank.


End file.
